Gift for good SAMARITAN: Kevon Neptune, left, PC Shane Smith and Police Commissioner Gary Griffith following an award ceremony on Wednesday when Neptune was recognised for his efforts in assisting Smith after a road traffic accident in March.

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Gift for good SAMARITAN: Kevon Neptune, left, PC Shane Smith and Police Commissioner Gary Griffith following an award ceremony on Wednesday when Neptune was recognised for his efforts in assisting Smith after a road traffic accident in March.

ON the same day that he was involved in a road traffic accident which cost him his left leg, Police Constable Shane Smith said his son was born.

As a result, he said he is grateful for life, and all that it has to offer, and he will not let his new circumstances get him down.

Smith spoke to the media at the Police Administration Building on Friday morning.

He recalled that, on March 26, he was on a police motorcycle proceeding west along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway when he skidded on some gravel as he approached the Samaroo Roundabout, El Socorro.

He was propelled into the air after losing control of his bike, which hit an electricity pole.

He landed on a damaged railing which resulted in the immediate amputation of his left leg.

A good Samaritan who saw what took place, Kevon Neptune, immediately stopped and rendered assistance.

He placed PC Smith in his vehicle and was escorted by police as he drove him to the Mt Hope Medical Sciences Complex.

“It was hard, I’m not going to lie. But my son was born on the same day. My wife went into labour when she came to visit me at Eric Williams. So all we did was pray quickly, and she said she was giving my son the name ‘Mercy’ due to the fact that I still had life. So I am very glad for life, and I am very glad I got to meet my son,” Smith said.

He recalled that he only got to meet his son several days after being discharged.

Adjusting to life

Smith said he was still trying to adjust to life without his left leg, however, he refused to allow it to demoralise him.

“It is an adjustment. There are things you take for granted in life. When I had all my limbs, I would jump off my day and start my routine without any consideration. That was just how life is. You don’t think about the things you have. Now it is different for me. When I get up I have to pick up my crutches and try to move around. It takes work. It is hard. But it is something that has not broken my vision or demoralised me in any way. I am just living life,” Smith said.

He said he got his strength and determination to continue from his faith, and from his wife.

“Don’t matter what…she is there. And I love her,” Smith said.

The police constable said he got his love for motorcycles since he was a child, and he hoped that one day, despite the challenges, he would be able to ride again

Even as he spoke on the topic, his face lit up, and he had a boyish grin on his face. —Alexander Bruzual

Trinidad and Tobago has been spared the most “vulgar” displays of systemic racism. But we are not immune.

This is the view of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Asked about the developments taking place in the US, which have led to anti-racism demonstrations all over the world as countries grapple with insidious and systemic racism and which in Trinidad and Tobago has played out in strong reaction to racist and insensitive statements by some nationals, the Prime Minister said: “The fear that we have today is that there seems to be a new normal that is developing where the higher values that we thought we were ascribing to and the gains that we were making could be so easily lost.